shadow book 1:the titans curse
by dajasa
Summary: Five shall go west to the goddess in chains, One shall be saved in the land without rain, The Child of Death shows the trail, Campers and Hunters combined prevail, The Titan's curse must one withstand, And one shall fall by an ancestor's hand. that is the prophecy given, and with a new and misterious character, who's irish, percy's life goes from strange to downright f***ed up
1. Chapter 1

A/N _hey guys this is the first book in my series yes it begins in the middle of the series, but no worries any changes are not major and will be explained later, if you like this review, and read mischief book 1- the red pyramid, by lord Jake the warrior. R&R_

Shadow book 1- the titans curse

Seth hijo de ninguno, stood in the corner, as usual and watched almost laughing as he watched the son of el dios del mar and the daughter of Athena, as well as the daughter of el dios del trueno, stand with the satyr, looking for Nico di Angelo, and his sister Bianca both stood in the opposite corner, it was a Hades thing, corners always dark, _stop _he thought to himself _focus, we have a job, in and out._ He looked back, to see the kids and the demi-gods gone he ran unnoticed through the crowd pulling the hood of his leather jacket up his black eyes glowing slightly as he searched the shadows outside, "mierda!" he muttered how had he lost them? And then he found them as well as the Greek lesbian girl scouts aka hunters of Artemis, damn this would be hard, but it had to be done so he needed to fight anyone who got in the way, he drew his weapon a four meter long chain, with a two foot long blade at the end. As he watched the hunters yelled something about monsters, huh no shit they really were useless he sighed; _this will take a while_ and leapt into combat.

To say that Perseus Jackson was surprised when a man in black, threw himself at the small army of monsters would be an understatement. The man's blade flashed outwards, shredding any monster within a few meters, the boy then threw himself into a back flip, the chain weapon following him slicing a Scythian dracaena head to tail tips, before spinning again slicing a Cyclops' feet of

"Whehe!" he yelled "footed"

Then he drew a normal axe, well tomahawk. The axe and blade swung like they were part of him, then Percy saw a huntress with black hair and brown eyes, step up to the manticore, "permission to kill, milady" she said the twelve year old who i still couldn't believe was artemis replied "permission gran-" was as far as she got before the girl was grabbed, thorn laughed before diving backwards, "Zoë!" yelled Artemis.

Seth sighed _idiot huntress _he thought, then ran at the cliff before diving over the edge, he saw the manticore attempting to spin so the huntress was below him, and failing, Seth pushed himself slightly faster, until he reached the huntress "hold on to me!" he yelled, the huntress glared at him, "i need not thy help!" she yelled, Seth grabbed her arm any way before concentrating on the forest clearing. Both Zoë and Seth fell onto soft grass, Zoë groaned Seth rose straight to his feet, just to see the hunters pointing their bows at him, _boy have i got some explaining to do_, He thought.

_A/N okay maybe not the best chapter but it will get better, much better remember r&r_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N okay erm this is a bit copied from the book but there are changes and it does switch between percy and Annabeth you've seen my first with Seth this will have integrations of him but it won't be until chapter two that he really shows up

DISCLAIMER: until such a time as i threaten rick riordan into giving me rights to PJO i do not own anyone but seth. Oh and bob

MY RESCUE OPERATION GOES VERY WRONG

The Friday before winter break, i packed an overnight bag and a few deadly weapons and my mom took me to a new boarding school. We picked up my friends Annabeth and Thalia on the way.

It was an eight-hour drive from New York to Bay Harbour, Maine. Sleet and snow pounded the highway. Annabeth, Thalia, and I hadn't seen each other in months, but between the blizzard and the thought of what we were about to do, we were too nervous to talk much. Except for my mom. She talks more when she's nervous. By the time we finally got to Westover Hall, it was getting dark, and she'd told Annabeth and Thalia every embarrassing baby story there was to tell about me. Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside.

"Oh, yeah. This'll be fun."

Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other.

"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" my mother asked.

"No, thanks, Mom," I said. "I don't know how long it will take. We'll be okay."

"But how will you get back? I'm worried, Percy." I hoped I wasn't blushing. It was bad enough I had to depend on my mom to drive me to my battles.

"It's okay, Ms. Jackson." Annabeth smiled reassuringly. Her blond hair was tucked into a ski cap and her gray eyes were the same colour as the ocean.

"We'll keep him out of trouble." My mom seemed to relax a little. She thinks Annabeth is the most level-headed demigod ever to hit eighth grade. She's sure Annabeth often keeps me from getting killed. She's right, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

"All right, dears," my mom said. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, Ms. Jackson," Thalia said. "Thanks for the ride."

"Extra sweaters? You have my cell phone number?"

"Mom—"

"Your ambrosia and nectar, Percy? And a golden drachma in case you need to contact

camp?" "Mom, seriously! We'll be fine. Come on, guys." She looked a little hurt, and I was sorry about that, but I was ready to be out of that car. If my mom told one more story about how cute I looked in the bathtub when I was three years old, I was going to burrow into the snow and freeze myself to death.

Annabeth and Thalia followed me outside. The wind blew straight through my coat like ice daggers.

Once my mother's car was out of sight, Thalia said,

"Your mom is so cool, Percy."

"She's pretty okay," I admitted. "What about you? You ever get in touch with your

mom?"

As soon as I said it, I wished I hadn't. Thalia was great at giving evil looks, what with the punk clothes she always wears—the ripped-up army jacket, black leather pants and chain jewellery, the black eyeliner and those intense blue eyes. But the look she gave me now was a perfect evil "ten."

"If that was any of your business, Percy—"

"We'd better get inside," Annabeth interrupted. "Grover will be waiting."

Thalia looked at the castle and shivered. "You're right. I wonder what he found here that made him send the distress call."

I stared up at the dark towers of Westover Hall. "Nothing good," I guessed.

The oak doors groaned open, and the three of us stepped into the entry hall in a swirl of snow.

All I could say was, "Whoa."

The place was huge. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff. I mean, I knew Westover was a military school and all, but the decorations seemed like overkill. Literally. My hand went to my pocket, where I kept my lethal ballpoint pen, Riptide. I could already sense something wrong in this place. Something dangerous.

_How right you are_ came bobs voice, i didn't know if that was his actual name but i was pretty sure he was useful he could tell me anything i needed to know about a monster myths, weaknesses, strengths all that Thalia was rubbing her silver bracelet, her favourite magic item. I knew we were thinking the same thing. A fight was coming.

Annabeth started to say, "I wonder where—"

The doors slammed shut behind us.

"Oo-kay," I mumbled. "Guess we'll stay awhile." I could hear music echoing from the other end of the hall. It sounded like dance music. We stashed our overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall. We hadn't gone very far when I heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept us.

They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backward to me. They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines.

"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"Um…" I realized I hadn't planned for this. I'd been so focused on getting to Grover and finding out what was wrong, I hadn't considered that someone might question three kids sneaking into the school at night. We hadn't talked at all in the car about how we would get inside. I said, "Ma'am, we're just—"

"Ha!" the man snapped, which made me jump. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee-jected!"

He had an accent—French, maybe. He pronounced his J like in Jacques, He was tall, with a hawkish face. His nostrils flared when he spoke, which made it really hard not to stare up his nose, and his eyes were two different colors—one brown, one blue—like an alley cat's. And then bob spoke _shit get out percy, that guy reeks of monster_

I figured he was about to toss us into the snow, but then Thalia stepped forward and did something very weird. She snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt a gust of wind ripple out from her hand, across the room. It washed over all of us, making the banners rustle on the walls.

"Oh, but we're not visitors, sir," Thalia said. "We go to school here. You remember: I'm Thalia. And this is Annabeth and Percy. We're in the eighth grade."

The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes. I didn't know what Thalia was thinking. Now we'd probably get punished for lying and thrown into the snow. But the man seemed to be hesitating.

He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"

Despite the danger we were in, I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. A teacher named Got Chalk? He had to be kidding.

The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I… yes. I

believe I do, sir." She frowned at us. "Annabeth. Thalia. Percy. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"

Before we could answer, I heard more footsteps, and Grover ran up, breathless.

"You made it! You—" He stopped short when he saw the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh—"

"What is it, Mr. Underwood?" said the man. His tone made it clear that he detested Grover. "What do you mean, they made it? These students live here."

Grover swallowed. "Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant, I'm so glad they made… the punch for the dance! The punch is great. And they made it!"

Dr. Thorn glared at us. I decided one of his eyes had to be fake. The brown one? The blue one? He looked like he wanted to pitch us off the castle's highest tower, but then Mrs. Gottschalk said dreamily,

"Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"

We didn't wait to be told twice. We left with a lot of "Yes, ma'ams" and "Yes, sirs" and a couple of salutes, just because it seemed like the thing to do. Grover hustled us down the hall in the direction of the music. I could feel the teachers' eyes on my back, but I walked closely to Thalia and asked in a

low voice, "thalia that's a monster"

"what? Are you sure?"

An uncomfortable lump formed in my throat. Bob was always right he had been yelling at me about miss dodds not being human what did she turn out to be a furyGrover hurried us to a door that had GYM written on the glass. Even with my dyslexia, I could read that much.

"That was close!" Grover said. "Thank the gods you got here!"

Annabeth and Thalia both hugged Grover. I gave him a big high five. It was good to see him after so many months. He'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise he looked like he always did when he passed for human—a red cap on his curly brown hair to hide his goat horns, baggy jeans and sneakers with fake feet to hide his furry legs and hooves. He was wearing a black T-shirt that took me a few seconds to read. It said WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT. I wasn't sure whether that was, like, Grover's rank or maybe just the school motto.

"So what's the emergency?" I asked.

Grover took a deep breath.

"I found two."

"Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?"

Grover nodded. Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year, Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. These were desperate times. We were losing campers. We needed all the new fighters we could find. The problem was, there just weren't that many demigods out there.

"A brother and a sister," he said. "They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."

"Monsters?" asked thalia

"one" Grover looked nervous. "doctor thorn" i stated Grover looked surprised "yeah. He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"

Grover looked at Thalia desperately. I tried not to feel upset by that. Used to be, Grover looked to me for answers, but Thalia had seniority. Not just because her dad was Zeus. Thalia had more experience than any of us with fending off monsters in the real world.

"Right," she said. "These half-bloods are at the dance?"

Grover nodded.

"Then let's dance"

Weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. I guess it's because everything's so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they've got to overcompensate or something. There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each others faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, the way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked like torture devices. Every once in a while they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face. Some of the older guys looked more like me—uncomfortable, hanging out at the edges of the gym and trying to hide, like any minute they might have to fight for their lives. Of course, in my case, it was true…

"There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the

bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo"

The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.

Annabeth said, "Do they… I mean, have you told them?"

Grover shook his head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once

they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."

He looked at me, and I nodded. I'd never really understood what half-bloods 'smell' like to monsters and satyrs, but I knew that your scent could get you killed. And the more powerful a demigod you became, the more you smelled like a monster's lunch.

"So let's grab them and get out of here," I said.

I started forward, but Thalia put her hand on my shoulder. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in our direction. His blue eye seemed to glow. Judging from his expression, I guessed Thorn hadn't been fooled by Thalia's trick with the Mist after all. He suspected who we were. He was just waiting to see why we were here.

"Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent."

"How?"

"We're three powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids."

"Dancing?" Annabeth asked.

Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?"

Grover looked hurt. "I did."

"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"

"Green who?"

"thirty seconds to mars"

"what!?" asked grover

"You can if I'm leading," Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy."

Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor. Annabeth smiled. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing. It's just cool to have Thalia back."

Annabeth had grown taller than me since last summer, which I found kind of disturbing. She used to wear no jewelry except for her Camp Half-Blood bead necklace, but now she wore little silver earrings shaped like owls—the symbol of her mother, Athena. She pulled off her ski cap, and her long blond hair tumbled down her shoulders. It made her look older, for some reason.

"So…" I tried to think of something to say. Act natural, Thalia had told us. When you're a half-blood on a dangerous mission, what the heck is natural?

"Um, design any good buildings lately?"

Annabeth's eyes lit up, the way they always did when she talked about architecture.

"Oh

my gods, Percy. At my new school, I get to take 3-D design as an elective, and there's this cool computer program…"

She went on to explain how she'd designed this huge monument that she wanted to build at Ground Zero in Manhattan. She talked about structural supports and facades and stuff, and I tried to listen. I knew she wanted to be a super architect when she grew up—she loves math and historical buildings and all that—but I hardly understood a word she was saying. The truth was I was kind of disappointed to hear that she liked her new school so much. It was the first time she'd gone to school in New York. I'd been hoping to see her more often.

It was a boarding school in Brooklyn, and she and Thalia were both attending, close enough to Camp Half-Blood that Chiron could help if they got in any trouble. Because it was an all girls school, and I was going to MS-54 in Manhattan, I hardly ever saw them.

"Yeah, uh, cool," I said. "So you're staying there the rest of the year, huh?"

Her face got dark. "Well, maybe, if I don't—"

"Hey!" Thalia called to us. She was slow dancing with Grover, who was tripping all over himself, kicking Thalia in the shins, and looking like he wanted to die. At least his feet were fake. Unlike me, he had an excuse for being clumsy.

"Dance, you guys!" Thalia ordered. "You look stupid just standing there."

I looked nervously at Annabeth, then at the groups of girls who were roaming the gym.

"Well?" Annabeth said.

"Um, who should I ask?"

She punched me in the gut. "Me, Seaweed Brain."

"Oh. Oh, right."

So we went onto the dance floor, and I looked over to see how Thalia and Grover were doing things. I put one hand on Annabeth's hip, and she clasped my other hand like she was about to judo throw me.

"I'm not going to bite," she told me. "Honestly, Percy. Don't you guys have dances at your school?"

I didn't answer. The truth was we did. But I'd never, like, actually danced at one. I was usually one of the guys playing basketball in the corner. We shuffled around for a few minutes. I tried to concentrate on little things, like the crepe-paper streamers and the punch bowl—anything but the fact that Annabeth was almost on top of me, and my hands were sweaty and probably gross, and I kept stepping on her toes.

"What were you saying earlier?" I asked. "Are you having trouble at school or something?"

She pursed her lips. "It's not that. It's my dad."

"Uh-oh." I knew Annabeth had a rocky relationship with her father. "I thought it was getting better with you two. Is it your stepmom again?"

Annabeth sighed. "He decided to move. Just when I was getting settled in New York, he took this stupid new job researching for a World War I book. In San Francisco!'

She said this the same way she might say Fields of Punishment or Hades' gym shorts.

"So he wants you to move out there with him?" I asked.

"To the other side of the country," she said miserably. "And half-bloods can't live in San Francisco. He should know that."

"What? Why not?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. Maybe she thought I was kidding. "You know. It's right there!'

"Oh," I said. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I didn't want to sound stupid.

"So… you'll go back to living at camp or what?"

"It's more serious than that, Percy. I… I probably should tell you something."

Suddenly she froze. "They're gone."

"What?"

I followed her gaze. The bleachers. The two half-blood kids, Bianca and Nico, were no

longer there. The door next to the bleachers was wide open. Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight. "We have to get Thalia and Grover!" Annabeth looked around frantically. "Oh, where'd they dance off to? Come on!"

She ran through the crowd. I was about to follow when a mob of girls got in my way. I maneuvered around them to avoid getting the ribbon-and-lipstick treatment, and by the time I was free, Annabeth had disappeared. I turned a full circle, looking for her or Thalia and Grover. Instead, I saw something that chilled my blood. About fifty feet away, lying on the gym floor, was a floppy green cap just like the one Bianca di Angelo had been wearing. Near it were a few scattered trading cards.

Then I caught a glimpse of Dr. Thorn. He was hurrying out a door at the opposite end of the gym, steering the di Angelo kids by the scruffs of their necks, like kittens. I still couldn't see Annabeth, but I knew she'd be heading the other way, looking for Thalia and Grover.

I almost ran after her, and then I thought, Wait. I remembered what Thalia had said to me in the entry hall, looking at me all puzzled when i told her thorn was a monster, like she didn't trust methought about the way Grover had turned to her, expecting her to save the day.

Not that I resented Thalia. She was cool. It wasn't her fault her dad was Zeus and she got all the attention… Still, I didn't need to run after her to solve every problem. Besides, there wasn't time. The di Angelos were in danger. They might be long gone by the time I found my friends. I knew monsters. I could handle this myself I took Riptide out of my pocket and ran after Dr. Thorn.

The door led into a dark hallway. I heard sounds of scuffling up ahead, then a painful grunt. I uncapped Riptide.

The pen grew in my hands until I held a bronze Greek sword about three feet long with a leather-bound grip. The blade glowed faintly, casting a golden light on the rows of lockers.

I jogged down the corridor, but when I got to the other end, no one was there. I opened a door and found myself back in the main entry hall. I was completely turned around. I didn't see Dr. Thorn anywhere, but there on the opposite side of the room were the di Angelo kids.

They stood frozen in horror, staring right at me.

I advanced slowly, lowering the tip of my sword. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

They didn't answer. Their eyes were full of fear. What was wrong with them? Where was Dr. Thorn? Maybe he'd sensed the presence of Riptide and retreated. Monsters hated celestial bronze weapons.

"My name's Percy," I said, trying to keep my voice level. "I'm going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe." Bianca's eyes widened. Her fists clenched. Only too late did I realize what her look meant. She wasn't afraid of me. She was trying to warn me. _Look out behind_ exclaimed bob

I whirled around and something wentWHISHHHHHH! Pain exploded in my shoulder. A force like a huge hand yanked me backward and slammed me to the wall.

I slashed with my sword but there was nothing to hit. A cold laugh echoed through the hall.

"Yes, Perseus Jackson" Dr. Thorn said. His accent mangled the J in my last name. "I know who you are."

I tried to free my shoulder. My coat and shirt were pinned to the wall by some kind of spike—a black dagger-like projectile about a foot long. It had grazed the skin of my shoulder as it passed through my clothes, and the cut burned. I'd felt something like this before. Poison. I forced myself to concentrate. I would not pass out.

A dark silhouette now moved toward us. Dr. Thorn stepped into the dim light. He still looked human, but his face was ghoulish. He had perfect white teeth and his brown/blue eyes reflected the light of my sword.

"Thank you for coming out of the gym," he said. "I hate middle school dances."

I tried to swing my sword again, but he was just out of reach. WHIIIISH! A second projectile shot from somewhere behind Dr. Thorn. He didn't appear to move. It was as if someone invisible were standing behind him, throwing knives. Next to me, Bianca yelped. The second thorn impaled itself in the stone wall, half an inch from her face.

"All three of you will come with me," Dr. Thorn said. "Quietly. Obediently. If you

make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately

I can throw."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N so i hope you liked chapter two here is three, major changes start know, although i am still gonna stick to the books, just less closely (is that a word?)

Oh and if you think this is good read mischief book 1 the red pyramid-"Egypt isn't the be all, end all of the sheer insanity that is mythology. Our story is over. But the real story is about to begin…" AU of The Kane Chronicles, starring Hiccup, because we all love Hiccup.

Plus this series will not be stopping, and battle of the labyrinth will be very different

Spear precision, definately

Even for a manticore, thorn was fast,Maybe I could defend myself if I could get my shield activated. All that it would take was a touch of my wrist-watch. But defending the di Angelo kids was another matter. I needed help, and there was only one way I could think to get it. I closed my eyes.

"What are you doing, Jackson?" hissed Dr. Thorn. "Keep moving!" I opened my eyes and kept shuffling forward.

"It's my shoulder," I lied, trying to sound miserable, which wasn't hard. "It burns."

"Bah! My poison causes pain. It will not kill you. Walk!"

Thorn herded us outside, and I tried to concentrate. I pictured Grover's face. I focused on my feelings of fear and danger. Last summer, Grover had created an empathy link between us. He'd sent me visions in my dreams to let me know when he was in trouble. As far as I knew, we were still linked, but I'd never tried to contact Grover before. I didn't even know if it would work while Grover was awake.

_Hey, Grover! I thought. Thorn's kidnapping us! Poisonous spike-throwing Maniac over here! Help! _

Thorn marched us into the woods. We took a snowy path dimly lit by old-fashioned lamplights. My shoulder ached. The wind blowing through my ripped clothes was so cold that i felt like a Percysicle.

"There is a clearing ahead," Thorn said. "We will summon your ride."

"What ride?" Bianca demanded. "Where are you taking us?"

"Silence, you insufferable girl!"

"Don't talk to my sister that way.'" Nico said. His voice quivered, but I was impressed that he had the guts to say anything at all.

Dr. Thorn made a growling sound that definitely wasn't human. It made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, but I forced myself to keep walking and pretend I was being a good little captive. Meanwhile, I projected my thoughts like crazy—anything to get Grover's attention: _Grover! Apples! Tin cans! Get your furry goat behind out here and bring some heavily armed friends!_

"Halt," Thorn said.

The woods had opened up. We'd reached a cliff overlooking the sea. At least, I sensed the sea was down there, hundreds of feet below. I could hear the waves churning and I could smell the cold salty froth. But all I could see was mist and darkness. Dr. Thorn pushed us toward the edge. I stumbled, and Bianca caught me.

"Thanks," I murmured.

"What is he?" she whispered. "How do we fight him?"

"I… I'm working on it."

"I'm scared," Nico mumbled. He was fiddling with something—a little metal toy soldier of some kind.

"Stop talking!" Dr. Thorn said. "Face me!"

We turned. Thorn's two-tone eyes glittered hungrily. He pulled something from under his coat. At first I thought it was a switchblade, but it was only a phone. He pressed the side button and said,

"The package—it is ready to deliver."

There was a garbled reply, and I realized Thorn was in walkie-talkie mode. This seemed way too modern and creepy—a monster using a mobile phone. I glanced behind me, wondering how far the drop was. Dr. Thorn laughed.

"By all means, Son of Poseidon. Jump! There is the sea. Save yourself."

"What did he call you?" Bianca muttered.

"I'll explain later," I said.

"You do have a plan, right?"

_Grover! I thought desperately. Come to me!_ Maybe I could get both the di Angelos to jump with me into the ocean. If we survived the fall, I could use the water to protect us. I'd done things like that before. If my dad was in a good mood, and listening, he might help. Maybe.

"I would kill you before you ever reached the water," Dr. Thorn said, as if reading my thoughts. "You do not realize who I am, do you?" A flicker of movement behind him, and another missile whistled so close to me that it nicked my ear. Something had sprung up behind Dr. Thorn—like a catapult, but more flexible his tail "manticore" i said Thorn ignored me

"Unfortunately," Thorn said, "you are wanted alive, if possible. Otherwise you would already be dead."

"Who wants us?" Bianca demanded. "Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family. Nico and I…" Her voice broke a little. "We've got no one but each other."

"Aww," Dr. Thorn said. "Do not worry little brats. You will be meeting my employer soon enough. Then you will have a brand-new family."

"Luke," I said. "You work for Luke."

Dr. Thorn's mouth twisted with distaste when I said the name of my old enemy—a former friend who'd tried to kill me several times. "You have no idea what is happening, Perseus Jackson. I will let the General enlighten you. You are going to do him a great service tonight. He is looking forward to meeting you."

"The General?" I asked. Then I realized I'd said it with a French accent. "I mean… who's the General?"

Thorn looked toward the horizon. "Ah, here we are. Your transportation." I turned and saw a light in the distance, a searchlight over the sea. Then I heard the chopping of helicopter blades getting louder and closer.

"Where are you taking us?" Nico said.

"You should be honoured, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls."

"They're not dolls! They're figurines! And you can take your great army and shovit up your fat"

"Now, now," Dr. Thorn warned. "You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if you do not, well… there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway."

"The Great what?" I asked. Anything to keep him talking while I tried to kick into action,if i used the water i could send Bianca and nico to safety, and then try and fight

"The stirring of monsters." Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will-" and then he began to laugh "ah alas i cannot tell you that evil monologue and all, i think that you would be better dead Jackson"

He lunged there was a whoosh as a spear impaled his tail, and then an invisible force struck me...

Looking back on it, Annabeth's move was brilliant. Wearing her cap of invisibility, she plowed into the di Angelos and me, knocking us to the ground. thornes first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over our heads. This gave Thalia and Grover a chance to advance from behind—Thalia wielding her magic shield, Aegis.

If you've never seen Thalia run into battle, you have never been truly frightened. She uses a huge spear that expands from this collapsible Mace canister she carries in her pocket, but that's not the scary part. Her shield is modelled after one her dad Zeus uses—also called Aegis—a gift from Athena. The shield has the head of the gorgon Medusa moulded into the bronze, and even though it won't turn you to stone, it's so horrible, most people will panic and run at the sight of it.

Even Dr. Thorn winced and growled when he saw it.

Thalia moved in with her spear. "For Zeus!" I thought Dr. Thorn was a goner. Until thalia exploded, literally in a pop and a confetti like spray of black particles, disappearing. Now that thorn wasn't under attack he focused His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that he used to rip the spear from his tail, the limb flopped, but he was still able to spin and send the tail flying outward slashing at empty air,

"what is this!" he roared

"this is," came a voice from above "an intervention" and the figure dropped out of the sky landing on thorns shoulders

Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form—his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.

"A manticore!" Annabeth said, now visible. Her magical New York Yankees cap had come off when she'd ploughed into us.

"yeah we got that!" I replied

"Who are you people?" Bianca di Angelo demanded. "And what is that?"

"A manticore?" Nico gasped. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"

I didn't know what he was talking about, but I didn't have time to worry about it.

"Get down!" Annabeth pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow. At the last second, I remembered my own shield. I hit my wristwatch, and metal plating spiraled out into a thick bronze shield. Not a moment too soon. The thorns impacted against it with such force they dented the metal. The beautiful shield, a gift from my brother, was badly damaged. I wasn't sure it would even stop a second volley.

I heard a thwack and a yelp, and Grover landed next to me with a thud.

"Yield!" the monster roared.

"never!" came the reply the man on his back, the manticore grabbed him and threw him over his shoulders, the man landed cleanly on his feet and one hand placing the other on the ground he brought the left hand up, a black oil like liquid rose up forming an axe, a curved shaft and crescent moon blade, the strange thing was the black metal, i had never seen it, it wasn't just black it seemed to suck in all the light "thorn prepare to-"

His sentence was cut short when something shot past me like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder. He staggered backward, wailing in agony.

"no!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two, but my eyes must've been playing tricks on me. No one, not even Apollo's kids at camp, could shoot with that much accuracy. The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. I tried to swipe at him with my sword, but he wasn't as injured as he looked. He dodged my attack and slammed his tail into my shield, knocking me aside.

Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, like me. They wore silvery ski parkas And cargo trousers, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.

"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried.

Next to me, Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful."

I didn't have a chance to ask what she meant. One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess.

"Permission to kill, my lady?"

I couldn't tell who she was talking to, because she kept her eyes on the manticore.

The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws."

"Not so," another girl said. This one was a little younger than me, maybe twelve or thirteen. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon. Her face was so beautiful it made me catch my breath, but her expression was stern and dangerous.

"The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoe, permission granted."

The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!"

He lunged at the girl Zoe, knowing her bow could not help her

And before anyone could react, the monster, with Zoë still in his grip, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.

then the guy in black charged after them jumping himself there was silence and then a pop just as thalia came rushing into the clearing both the guy and Zoe appeared a few meters above the ground both fell and landed on their faces. Zoë joined the other Hunters advanced on us.

Zoe stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You," she said with distaste.

"Zoe Nightshade." Thalia's voice trembled with anger. "Perfect timing, as usual."

Zoe scanned the rest of us. "Four half-bloods and a satyr, my lady."

"Yes," the younger girl said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."

I tried to struggle to my feet, but a couple of the girls held me down.

"You are in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs," the auburn-haired girl told the guy in black.

"ack well," he spoke in a slight irish accent "ye know chucking yourself of a cliff is a great pastime, very fulfilling

"Let me go!" I demanded. "Who do you think you are?"

Zoe stepped forward as if to smack me.

"No," the other girl ordered. "I sense no disrespect, Zoe. He is simply distraught. He does not understand." The young girl looked at me, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon.

"I am Artemis," she said. "Goddess of the Hunt."


End file.
